


I built a home (with you)

by calimaslinson



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: A.I. AU, Apocalypse, Based off the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, I'm Sorry, Love, Mecha, Ray is rich, and not stingy, eternal sadness, rayber
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 05:26:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2298134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calimaslinson/pseuds/calimaslinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray Narvaez Jr. is an average twenty-four year old man; he spends every day, cooped up in his studio apartment, with nothing but time on his calloused hands. He's lonely, far lonelier than someone his age should be. After the tragic loss of his late fiance, Ray figures to dull the ache that thrums in his chest, he should create a girl of his very own.</p><p>Or the one where Ray is as single as a pringle and he purchases himself a robot girlfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I built a home (with you)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LetsPlayRayvin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LetsPlayRayvin/gifts).



> Loosely based off of the movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence. I recommend that you at least read the basics about the Mecha and the plot before you read this. You don't have to, it's just advised. I also recommend that you have a box of tissues on standby.

Ray perches himself up on his leather chair, arms slung over the rests, leaving small indents in the fabric as he does so. He's done this every day, and he thinks there should probably be a permanent concave spot where his ass would go, but to his surprise, there isn't. No, the seat manages to spring back into place after he lifts himself up off of the spot time and time again. He shouldn't be able to notice the details like these. He shouldn't be trapped in the confinements of his mind, but he is. With no friends, no family within one-hundred miles, and no love interest, Ray's forced to rake through the pathways of his mind every second of the day. Nothing else but to ponder the lonesome feeling he gets when he stares over at the matching loveseat where she used to sit; the one he was supposed to be with forever. He can still smell the heavy aroma of her lavender perfume, the way it would whisk over his nostrils with every sway of her petite body when she would wind her arms around him and press her lips to his cheek.

 _Stop,_ his thoughts bring him out of the downhill spiral his thoughts had appeared to be traveling. He can't go there again, no, he can't take himself back to those bittersweet moments. He has to find a way to fix things. He can't keep bringing himself to this point, to the edge of losing his mind and the will to live.

 

The sunlight beams in through the curtains, Ray brings one of his hands up to rake his fingers through his tousled and unwashed hair, before he pulls the two pieces of torn and mangled material together to block out the rays of dreaded sunlight. He drops back down onto his seat on the chair once more and drags his legs up beside him, curling in on himself. _Nothing's ever going to change, is it?_ Ray mentally questions, but he doesn't get a response. He's far past the point of looking for answers. 

 

His eyelids go hooded over his dark and almost pitch black orbs, and he wills himself to fall asleep, as that's the only thing he really can do. Sleep, and wait.

 

\--

 

A week later, Ray finds himself at a store on the other side of town, one called Mechaverse. He thinks the name is cheesy and rather obnoxious, but he couldn't care any less, as he's only got one intention. He had read it in an article that had been delivered to his mailbox by mistake, but it had come in handy. He read all about the creation of humanized robots, also known as Mecha, that had full ability to feel real emotions, real pain, and even to love, something that machines have never been able to do, up until the past year. He's researched the "trouble Mecha," the ones that have malfunctioned and gone absolutely mental on their owners, but the risk couldn't outweigh the joy it'd bring Ray to have someone near. 

 

His exhausted hues wander aimlessly over the aisles upon aisles of different types of Mecha, one for every sort of desire you could have. The children Mecha; ones for couples who probably can't have children themselves, or don't feel like shoving anything out of their genitals, and Ray doesn't blame them. There's the sex Mecha; the ones that only have one wish, to please their masters, and Ray shudders at even the idea of intercourse. And then Ray stumbles upon the girlfriend Mecha, which you can build yourself, with body parts of your own wish. Shamefully, he decides that's his best bet, knowing he rid himself of the true pain without finding someone new to love him just as she did.

 

It all happens so fast, the sales woman approaches him and helps him fabricate the perfect girlfriend. He gives her bright, wide brown eyes, ones that you'd swoon over with just one glance. Ample breasts, a short frame, wispy brown hair that cascades just above her shoulders. And he names her Amber, as her appearance exudes the feeling of the amber stone. She's perfect, in Ray's eyes. She's the definition of beauty and class and _happiness._

 

It becomes a blur when the sales woman saunters to the giant machine that contains Ray's brand new girlfriend, and she slides open the glass pane, grasping onto an all-too lifelike hand. The sales woman helps her, Amber, step out of the cylinder, the very cylinder that brought upon her existence. 

 

She costs four hundred thousand dollars, but Ray doesn't mind whatsoever, as he can't put a price on love. He wastes no time before forking the cash over to the sales woman, and she takes it happily, wishing Ray a good day before leaving the new two to their own.

 

Amber doesn't speak at first, no, she stays completely silent, eyes roaming around the room in a bewildered sense, in confusion. And it causes Ray to smile, but warily, as he's still unsure as to whether or not he's dreaming.

 

"I'm Ray." He speaks up, extending his arm in Amber's direction with a welcoming expression plastered across his features.

 

Amber glances down at the hand that's held out to her, eyebrows knitting together in a manner of incertitude, "I know who you are, Ray, and I am Amber, I am your girlfriend." She speaks formally, her voice high and smooth, ringing like harmonious angelic choirs in Ray's ears. 

 

And it's then that Ray realizes they'll get along just fine.

 

\--

 

After a week of teaching Amber the ways of life, and the basics on how to survive, Ray starts to work on their relationship. He sneaks kisses to Amber's plump lips every now and again, to which she happily returns them, and she's pleased with the smile that finds it's way onto her boyfriend's smooth lips.

 

It doesn't take long for them to act like an actual couple, no more than a month. The sleep in the same bed every night, with Amber curled up into Ray's chest, and his arms wound tightly around her hips. It becomes a normal thing for them to kiss in public, to show their affection to everyone around because, dammit, she's _his_ and he's _hers._ She becomes his rock, his center, his everything.

 

On their one year anniversary, Ray takes Amber out to his favorite place to go when he was a kid; his tree fort in the middle of the woods, completely enclosed in overgrown oak trees. He leads her up the ladder into the treehouse and he splays out a meal he's packed in a picnic basket, although she can't eat. 

 

He shoves a grape past his lips as she lays her head across his slender legs, staring up at him with the same curious expression she gets every time he eats. 

 

"How does it feel to eat, Ray?" Amber questions quizzically, head cocked to the side as she watches the food enter her boyfriend's mouth, brown eyes sparkling with interest.

 

"How does it feel?" Ray chuckles lowly beneath his breath, his thoughts racing with ways to respond to her rather adorable question. "It's like.. quenching your biggest desires, only for the desires to return a few hours later. It's pretty pointless, really. And you're lucky you don't have to eat, babe."

 

"I wish I could eat with you, I think it would be fun." She states in her perky tone of voice, one that Ray can't seem to get enough of. She brings her hands together as she peers up at him with nothing but adoration flooding her gaze.

 

Ray leans down to her and presses a lingering kiss to her lips, one hand cupping the shell of her jawbone as the other slips into her own hand, caressing her knuckles with the pad of his thumb. Her intoxicating taste drips over his tongue like a waterfall, nectar soaking into his senses, and his heart thrums all-too audibly in the prison known as his chest. 

 

And when he pulls away, her eyelids drift open, providing him with the same, consistent, pearly white smile that he's grown to love much more than he should. 

 

Things go silent for a moment, and Amber's lips part, her words flowing out effortlessly as she speaks, "You feel like home, Ray."

 

\--

 

Another year goes by, and society begins to look down on Mecha, saying they're no good, and they shouldn't be allowed to contaminate the naturality of humankind. Ray refuses to let Amber hear it, though, despite the constant blaring of the nonsense over every news channel there is on basic cable. He can't let her find out about the rebellion, and the way that the others storm the streets with horrific intentions like cavemen, beating the life out of every Mecha they find until they're little bits and pieces of scrap metal, scattered amongst the landscape like they'd never existed. So, as protective as he is, he keeps her locked indoors, away from the windows, pent up in the living room as he had once been before, years ago.

 

"Why do we have to stay inside, Ray? I want to go to the treehouse." Amber states in a concerned tone, something mixed with a hint of sadness. Ray feels bad about it, of course, that he can't provide his girlfriend with the regular lifestyle of an average couple. 

 

"I like being indoors, baby. You just have to listen to me, okay? You can't go outside. Promise me you won't go outside." He almost pleads, his expression scrunching up into one of worry, knowing what would happen to her if she decided to leave the apartment on her own. Any Mecha that wanders outside would be completely obliterated, and he can't let that happen to his girl.

 

\--

 

The promise does no use, as only a week later, the president of the United States enacts a law that all Mecha are to be removed from their homes and brought to the nearest military base to be shipped off to a new habitat on an island off the coast of West Africa; but Ray doesn't believe it. He knows it's just a ploy to kill off every last Mecha so there's no possibility their intelligence can grow any further. He knows the government has a fear that Mecha will become too strong, and take over the human race. And with fear, comes anger. He knows that if he ships Amber off, he'll never see her again.

 

He hides her away, stores her in a utility closet in hopes that they won't come searching for her. As every Mecha has been registered, Ray knows that it's only a matter of time before they search his home for Amber. He knows they don't have long.

 

He's not surprised when, that same day, three guards with heavy artillery show up at his door, demanding that the "filthy Mecha shit" be placed in their care. Ray shakes his head in refusal, and that's when the hold the gun up to his head. He's left with no other options. 

 

Surges of tears roll their way down his cheeks as he guides the guards to the utility closet where he's hidden Amber, and he turns the knob, exposing her to the others. "Amber, honey, I'm going to need you to go with these men. They're going to take you somewhere nice, alright?" He forces out in a shaky and gutted tone, teeth clenched as he fights back the sobs that threaten to wrack through his skinny frame. 

 

"Will you be coming with me?" Amber questions as she stands up from her place on the floor of the closet, holding her hand out for Ray to take.

 

He doesn't lift his hand, he doesn't even move a muscle, and is only able to whisper, "No, Amber. I'm sorry."

 

"But, no, what about me? What about us? You're my home, Ray, you're my home!" Amber shouts as the guards drop the guns from Ray's cranium, and they drag her away, out of the apartment, never to be seen again.

 

 _You're my home.._ Her words repeat over and over again in his head, and he curls in on himself in the same chair as before, unable to stop the heavy stream of tears that wind down his pale cheeks. He can't do this again, no he can't have a repeat of history.

 

Ray picks up his phone, dials the emergency hotline number, and waits for someone to answer.

 

"Hello, 911, what's your emergency?" A bubbly young woman sounds through the telephone and it disgusts Ray.

 

He vomits in his mouth before he's able to speak, swallowing the bile back, "A Mecha just broke into my home. 144 Maple, in the apartments, floor four, room ten." He speaks fluidly and in a monotone voice, before he drops he phone, watching the battery fall out the back.

 

He brings his legs up beside him on the chair, the same chair that clung to his body two years before, the one that held him up when all he wanted to do was sink lower. 

 

She would be so disappointed in him, both of them would. Amber would ask Ray why he's being so irrational, and demand for him to stop. But he can't. They've taken away what's left of him. 

 

His door is kicked in, and two new guards holding AK's storm in. Bullets whiz around Ray's head.

 

The last thought that drapes itself through Ray's mind is the sight of Amber's smile, the way her teeth would peek through her pinkened lips, and it would seem to brighten up the entire universe. And Ray laughs, he fucking laughs, because although he was her home, he created his in her.

 

And then there's blood. Blood, and eternal nothingness. 

 

\--

 

It took five years for the United States government to successfully ally with the United Kingdom and China to eliminate all global sources of Mecha. In total, two million Mecha were destroyed, along with seven hundred thousand human casualties. 

 

\--

 

_“For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.” - Stephanie Perkins_


End file.
